Friday, April 13, 2007

The Daily Mall Reader: Phoenix Spectrum Mall (Chris-Town)

(Excerpt) Chris-Town Mall was a retailing destination when it opened in 1961, one of the biggest shopping centers in the West and the first in Phoenix with air-conditioning.

Anchors included Korricks, JCPenney and Montgomery Ward. So many people showed up on opening day that one shopper remarked that it "looked like New York." More anchors came and went over the years, but the central Phoenix mall thrived.

Fast forward to today: The department stores are gone, replaced by Wal-Mart and Costco. Shoppers push carts down the mall's long corridors, and Chris-Town has a new name, Phoenix Spectrum Mall.